WWE Raw Open Discussion Thread 4/29/13: You're Welcome

The Shield cut a path of destruction through Europe, culminating in a brutal beatdown of The Undertaker. What will unfold when Raw returns home to America? Here are five reasons to tune in tonight at 8/7 on USA Network. (via WWE.com)

2. John Cena was injured on the European tour, and it seems pretty serious:

WWE Champion John Cena sustained an injury during WWE’s European tour, raising questions about the scheduled match between the WWE Champion and Ryback at Extreme Rules. However, Cena confirmed on Twitter that he will be live on Raw.

Spoiler: John Cena talks about how he’ll miss a bunch of shows, misses zero shows, wrestles with a broken foot, beats Ryback, continues beating whoever with a broken foot because his body doesn’t work like a normal person’s and all he can do is that one John Cena wrestling match. If he stops doing it, he’ll die. He’s like a shark.

3. That’s … uh, it. The WWE preview is just “WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON RAW” with topics like “there is a match at Extreme Rules, what will happen before it happens.” So … three-point preview this week.

As always, my ten favorite comments from tonight’s WWE Raw open discussion thread will be featured in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of WWE Raw column. To nominate a comment for top 10 consideration, please reply to it with a +1.

So, I admit to kinda liking Cena a little bit while watching the Make A Wish promos because he legitimately seems like making kids happy out in the world is something that is really important to him. And then I immediately go back to hating his guts while he’s on apron during the 6-man tag match trying play crowd cheerleader every time the crowds starts cheering something. Look, Cena, fuck off with doing the “Yes! Arm-raises” after the crowd has already started the goddamn chant without you. You fucking suck.

So Fandango loses an in-ring non sports entertainment competition, and then using cheap tactics to take out the winner. He is promptly booed for being a proper “bad guy”
Sheamus loses an in-ring non sports entertainment competition, and then using cheap tactics to take out the winner. He is promptly cheered for being a douche “good guy”

WWE operates on the concept of revenge. Or, to put it in “Be a Star” terms, giving the bullies what they deserve.

As far as WWE is concerned, a heel (ie Mark Henry) deserves whatever happens to him, because he has previously done bad things to ____ (Sheamus, in this case).
Next week, if Khali attacks Fandango, Khali will be similarly justified.

I’m not saying this thought process is right or wrong. But it’s how WWE writes their stories. We don’t have to like it, but that’s the way it is for now.

Someone needs to fix the good guy/bad guy dynamics. Even team Hell no participated in this bullshit shenanigans when they MDK’d 3MB after they save them. I remember when that used to be the signs of a major heel turn.

Oh yeah, can the writers spend 5 minutes to write a Shield Promo defining what the hell their Justice means to them and why? Right now it just seems to mean pick popular face and jump them. I assume Del Rio is next on the list.

So, Cena wins at Extreme Rules after he Hulks up and FU’s Ryback despite his throbbing ankle, right?

“Oh yeah, can the writers spend 5 minutes to write a Shield Promo defining what the hell their Justice means to them and why? Right now it just seems to mean pick popular face and jump them.”

I was just having a conversation with a friend about this. As best I can tell, it seems like more of an “inequality” thing. Like tonight when they referred to the “wall of justice” they’re “tearing down”…it sounds like they’re basically waging an assault on the top tier of talent because there’s a “wall of justice” between the top tier, main event guys and everyone else. That’s the best I could come up with. But you’re totally right, they’ve never once explained what their brand of “justice” is.

I laid a good way for them to explain why their the Hounds of Justice in last week’s Open Discussion Thread. Just have them say they’re hear to beat up all the people who don’t deserve the attention they get (that’s going to pretty much exclusively be faces). And the reason their doing it is to save the fans from having to suffer watching the Ortons and the Cenas and the whoevers. They’re doing it for the fans. And if the fans want to boo The Shield, that’s just fine. Because the fans are too stupid to know what’s good for them. So The Shield is going to keep on doing it for the fans AND in spite of the fans. Because fuck you and BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD.

Both Reigns and Rollins would be viable faces, IMO. Obviously we’d all get a collective hard-on for Ambrose, but I could see the kiddies getting into little Rock and mini Hardy. I wish they could do non-platonic relationships properly in WWE, cos the image of Kaitlyn helping Seth dye the streak in his hair à la Ghost before a big match would make me squee.

If the rumors are pointing to the right place then two of them are going to win the tag championships. I think that Ambrose is the odd man out because his mic work is leaps and bounds better so he can make it on his own. No?

Does anyone honestly remember last time Cena lost cleanly besides Rock? I’d like to think it was Tensai, but I think Tensai’s slave threw flour in Cena’s face. And NONE of Punk’s wins were clean. Probably some shitty meaningless loss against Orton in 2009?

@Man Of 1,004 Holds: I mentioned Rock as an exception.
@Shough610 & @jamrorange: I don’t consider MITB clean as Cena ran out of the ring distracted by Vince and Big Johnny and re-entered to receive an (arguably) blind-sided GTS.

But in all of Cena’s big one-on-one matches, I don;t think he’s lost a match cleanly, one-on-one since he first won the WWE title off JBL. Cena being unable to lose without explicit outside interference is a real problem that they’ve never really addressed.

MITB Vince came down and distracted Cena who turned around to a round house kick and Punk got the victory, SS Cena’s foot was on the ropes HHH didn’t see it. Raw 1000 Cena won by DQ (Big Show), Cena did lose to ADR in last man standing match if that counts, Big Show had him lose at over the limit John L. (no DQ), Punk pinned Cena at Survivor Series after the shield took out ryback,